Sleeping
by ecclefechan
Summary: This is The Shipping News from Bunny's POV


Sleeping  
I live in Newfoundland. I haven't always lived here, but I am now. Life  
is good. It hasn't always been this way.  
I grew up in Mockingbird. Daddy worked for a newspaper and Petal did  
security work. She was always gone from the house and often came in with  
other grown up men. I believed she loved me. Sometimes I thought she didn't  
recognize, never cared for me.  
One day, Petal took me to another man. She said she would come back to me  
soon, and we would all live together happily. I believed her. She never  
returned. This man made me take off all my clothes. Men came pouring in  
and Sunshine and I were taken to another place. I was confused. I  
remember waking up later that evening with Daddy rocking me to sleep.  
Daddy's aunt, Agnis was at our house. I was afraid of her then. Her dog,  
Warren, had no teeth. Daddy said we were going on an adventure: to  
Newfoundland. I was angry at Daddy for taking us away, for abandoning  
Petal. Daddy said that Petal had gone to sleep, and would never wake up.  
While we were driving, the Aunt told us about where we were going to live,  
on Quoyle's Point. She explained to us that our family had once lived in  
Newfoundland. I hated them all; I had been taught that Daddy was dumb,  
never right. I was confused at this cold harsh land, and at the grey open  
waters. The motels were cold and uncomfortable. The food was odd. Petal  
was gone: we had abandoned her and come to this place.  
The first time I saw the house, I hated it. The green house looked  
unwelcoming; there were no windows; my promised room was nothing more than  
a pile of sticks. I had been deceived. I was miserable. I walked away  
and saw the white dog. It haunted my dreams. I had horrible nightmares.  
Daddy went to work at a newspaper. I wanted to go live in the big green  
house. Warren also fell asleep, just like Petal.  
I was sent to Marty's house. I loved it there. We played games and I  
became Marty's best friend. Beety looked after us, and I was happy.  
Soon we moved into the house. It was being repaired. At the beginning I  
was mad. It was not a new house, but the same old. Daddy never let me  
help with the roof. When I stepped upon the roof, he came and hugged me  
like he would never let go.  
Life became a rhythm. I was still frustrated with Newfoundland although I  
couldn't remember a day we had never lived here.  
We began to drive a lady and a boy. The lady, Wavey, had beautiful auburn  
hair. Her son, Herry, was weird: he looked funny and seemed stupid. I  
wondered why they had no dad; no one answered. We began to spend more time  
with Wavey. We drove her to work and had tea in her neat kitchen, if Daddy  
let us.  
The nightmares continued, the ones about the white dog, along with new ones  
about the house. I was scared, upset; I didn't know why. In the fall I  
started school: grade one. I learned to write and read. Marty was there  
too. I was proud to give her a ring for her birthday in September.  
When it snowed, we went to live in the Sea Gull Inn. I was writing  
Christmas letters to Santa and the Aunt moved away. They said she would  
come back in the spring. I was so excited for Christmas. At school, we  
were doing a pageant. Beety had let me help make the jumpers. Marty and I  
worked hard together to memorize our song. I was so excited the night of  
the pageant. I could never remember being so happy.  
Then, we moved to a new house, when my nightmares became true about the  
green house falling down. I still was enjoying school. That was until I  
pushed Mrs. Lumball. She had embarrassed and hurt Herry. How dare she do  
that! Daddy didn't seem too mad, but I would never forget the look on  
Herry's face.  
At the end of seal season, I found a dead bird. Wavey told me it was dead.  
I thought it was asleep, like Petal. I was afraid of sleeping and never  
waking up. The nightmares grew worse.  
Wavey gave me a white sled dog. I called our dog Warren the Second.  
Marty told me that her grandfather had died. Daddy let me go to the  
funeral. I had never been to one before. As I was looking at the old man,  
he woke up.  
I wanted to know why Petal was still not there. Hadn't she woken up too?  
Even the bird had escaped the sleep. I didn't understand. I still don't.  
Daddy married Wavey and we now live in the nice house in the town. Life is  
looking up since Petal fell asleep. 


End file.
